{"id":48569,"date":"2023-05-22T10:37:59","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T09:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=48569"},"modified":"2023-05-22T10:37:59","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T09:37:59","slug":"rich-nations-understanding-of-south-african-delay-to-coal-plant-closures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2023\/05\/22\/rich-nations-understanding-of-south-african-delay-to-coal-plant-closures\/","title":{"rendered":"Rich nations “understanding” of South African delay to coal plant closures"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rich nations “understand” South Africa’s immediate need to keep coal power plants running for longer to tackle electric power cuts despite an $8.5 billion clean energy transition deal, a German government spokesperson told Climate Home.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But they warned the South African government should not row back from a clear commitment to cutting long-term emissions.<\/p>\n

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told<\/a> Parliament last week the timetable to shift away from coal “must be relooked at” while the country struggles with crippling daily blackouts.<\/p>\n

The US, UK, EU, Germany and France are contributing funds<\/a> for a landmark plan, known as a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JetP) to clean up South Africa’s coal-reliant electricity system.<\/p>\n

Local business<\/strong> group tries to keep South Africa\u2019s coal plants alive<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A spokesperson for the German development ministry told Climate Home the group of rich countries behind the JetP show “understanding for the current emergency and sees the need for short-term measures” in South Africa.<\/p>\n

But they also warned against backsliding on the coal to clean energy transition: “A clear commitment by the South African government to long-term emission reduction strategies is and remains an important component of our cooperation”.<\/p>\n

Uncertain plans<\/h3>\n

The programme hinges on the ability to replace most of its 14 existing coal power plants with solar and wind power.<\/p>\n

South Africa’s coal plants often produce less electricity than the country needs and state-owned energy firm Eskom respond by implementing planned power cuts, which it calls load shedding.<\/p>\n

These can last up to 10 hours and have significantly worsened over the last year, angering citizens and businesses and damaging Ramaphosa’s popularity ahead of elections next year.<\/p>\n